


practically imperfect in every way

by Thebrokentardis



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Asexual Character, Death/Murder Mention, Everyone Is Gay, M/M, Post-Canon, basically ishval war mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:01:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28213605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thebrokentardis/pseuds/Thebrokentardis
Summary: Most people didn’t know what their golden eyes meant, but the few who did, pitied them. A mismatch is what it was called when you didn’t have a soulmate, or if your soulmate has a different match. You’re eye’s will never change when you look your soulmate in the eyes, the eyes you are born with are the eyes you’ll have forever. The chances of it happening were so rare so that most people didn’t think of it as a concern.soulmate au
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Comments: 2
Kudos: 82
Collections: Roy/Ed Week 2020





	practically imperfect in every way

**Author's Note:**

> /shows up 2 days late with peppermint mocha frappuccino// hi! Here's my day 3 submission for royed week 2020:  
> soulmate + fever
> 
> normal I don't have a beta/ I'm still learning to write, etc stuff. hope you enjoy!!  
> CW/TW: mentions murder and death in part of the fic, also some swearing.  
> ~Edit 12/27/2020 now with the fine feature of it being beta read! yaaay!~

_You are born with the eyes of the one your soul is made for_

 _Bunch of bullshit,_ Edward Elric thought, not for the first time. He was born with Xerxian eyes because of _genetics_ just like his brother, although Al’s were shaped more liked their moms.

Most people didn’t know what their golden eyes meant, but the few who did, pitied them. _A mismatch_ is what it was called when you didn’t have a soulmate, or if your soulmate has a different match. You’re eye’s will never change when you look your soulmate in the eyes, the eyes you are born with are the eyes you’ll have forever. The chances of it happening were so rare so that most people didn’t think of it as a concern.

Alphonse was temporarily free of the looks and questions and comments about his eyes when he was a suit of armor, although he got different questions then. Now Al answered questions with grace and a (strained) smile. “I don’t need to be in love to be as happy as everyone else.” He would say.

Ed asked him once why he said things like that just to placate people. Al gave him a strange look saying, “Isn’t that how you feel, brother?” Ed just nodded, agreeing passively even though he didn’t. He felt like all the clichés, waiting for a soulmate.

Winry cried when Ed and Al told her they were moving back to central. They both knew she didn’t really want to be in Resembool anymore though, since her eyes turned from brown to blue when she met Paninya, she had been finding excuses to stay in her hometown, but with Ed and Al moving permanently, she was out of excuses to not start the rest of her life in Rush Valley with her Soulmate.

When they moved to Central, after getting a small apartment to rent that allowed cats, they started on their jobs. Alphonse followed in Hughes’ footsteps and working in investigations, quickly winning over the team with his wit, charms, and ability to track arrays. Ed went a different route because those that cannot do, teach. And teaching… sure was something Ed did. All his students either loved or hated him, with no halfway, though that was common with people’s feelings towards the former fullmetal alchemist.

One day Al ran into Havoc while in Central Command and was immediately invited out to see Mustang’s old gang that night, Ed was, of course, invited too. The night was all hugs of reuniting, and laughter, and one to many drinks and teases until Fuery went to get the next round of drinks, and bumped into the new bartender. Between the knocking over of drinks, and excessive apologies they looked into each other eyes, and they changed color.

The rest of the late hours were spent meeting Fuery’s new soulmate, named Rick, and Rick spent time getting to know them. Mustang found Edward in the corner of the bar a few drinks later. “What’s a nice place like this doing with a boy like you in it?” Mustang says while sliding into the barstool beside him.

“Making arrays drunk, that you’re whole military will be jealous of when I’m finally sober.” Ed smirks, while pulling pens from the bun of hair on his head.

Mustang smiles back. “I have no doubt about that.” There’s a pause for a moment before he asks, “What do you think of Rick?”

Ed frowns. “He seems nice. I mean it, it’s just…” His golden eyes flash up at Mustangs near black-gray ones. “That makes everyone on the team who has now met their soulmate, except you. It’s overwhelming to be around sometimes is all, when you know you’ll never have that.” He says with a light sigh.

“Edwar- Hm, no. Never mind.”

“What is it? Now you got me all curious.”

Mustang faced him more fully, but kept his eyes away. “There are only a few who know this. Fewer that are still alive. But I’ve met my soulmate.” He inhales deeply. “I met him when I was about your age, but it wasn’t happy, or joyful. You see, I was born with red eyes. And I know my soulmate is dead.”

Ed inhales sharply, the realization hitting him like a truck. His soulmate was Ishvalan, but the only time he would have seen an Ishvalan at that age is during the war of extermination. Roy Mustang had to kill his own soulmate. “Mustang, I-I’m sorry. That’s awful. I didn’t know.”

“It’s… Well, I usually say it's fine, but it’s not really. I’ve come to terms with it after so long though.” Roy sighed, looking at Edward once again. “I just wanted you to know that you won’t be alone.”

Ed smiled meekly. “Thank you. Really.”

There was a comfortable silence between them and then Mustang says, “So can I start commissioning you for those brilliant drunken arrays.”

Ed grinned brightly with teeth. “Wasting Amestris’ tax dollars? It’d be my pleasure.”

They meet regularly after that, on Sunday night poker night with the team, and Al (Al always wins because he has the best poker face.). On Monday afternoons when Ed didn’t have class Mustang and Al had their lunch breaks. And Friday nights when he went to Mustang’s house for dinner and to show him the new commissioned arrays.

Ed began to look forward to his time with Mustang more and more. He’d arrive early on poker nights, and have extra lunches occasionally, and staying late Friday nights. It just seemed easier to be around someone else who had a hole in their chest. It didn’t fill that hole, but it mended it, and made it ache less.

One night during poker Havoc made a joke that they looked like soulmates, always huddled together in the corner of the room. Mustang rolled his eyes, but Ed blushed brightly, and stuttered and felt bright red for the rest of the night.

The next week Mustang called and cancelled their dinner. “Why?” Ed demanded on the phone.

“It’s nothing of life or death Ed, don’t worry.” But Ed did worry, because he realized he couldn’t pinpoint exactly when Mustang calling him “Ed” made his chest warm. “I’m just sick with a fever.”

“Do you have everything you need to take care of a fever?” Ed asked. Growing up around Winry made him know a lot about how to take care of sick people.

“I’m sure if I wrap myself in blankets I’ll be fine, I’ll see you soon-“

“Well that’s bullshit. I’ll come bring you Tylenol, and we’ll see what you need from there.”  
“Edwa-“

“See you soon!” he exclaimed before hanging up the phone.

Mustang upgraded to a nice house just outside the city when he became a general, so it didn’t take too long to get there. When Ed did, he made sure to bust in the lock without knocking, only to find Mustang laying on the couch, pitifully.

“You’re pitiful.” He said.  
“You always know what to say to cheer me up.”

Ed smirked.

He got to work on giving Mustang medicine and getting him up to his bed. Ed considered leaving, but it was late, and Mustang might need to go to the doctor, so he prepares the couch for sleep, and lays down for the night.

Sometime the next morning Ed woke with a crick in his neck and heard banging from the kitchen. He walked in to see a glassy eyed Mustang trying to make eggs. _Trying_ being the key word. “What are you doing?” Ed asked sleepily.

“Making breakfast.” Mustang gestured at the pan with the burnt eggs, and the plate that had various undercooked and overcooked eggs on it. Ed wrinkled his nose. “Maybe you should try to do that when you’re not sick.”

Mustang sighed, leaning his head on the closest cabinet. “I don’t think it’ll matter much, I’m not much of a cook anyways. I just wanted to do something nice for you.”

Ed stared at him, feeling much too vulnerable in his tired state, and with Mustang standing there wearing slippers, it was an overwhelming amount of domestic, safety, and sense of _home._ “Mustang.”

“Yes?”

“ _Roy.”_

“… Yes?”

Ed walked up to Mustang, _Roy,_ placed his hands on both sides of his face. Roy looked at Ed in all his bedhead glory right before Ed kissed him.

Ed had to stand on his tiptoes to reach, but he’d deny it, and Roy forgot how to breathe for a moment, and he’d deny that; it was perfect. When they separated Roy smiled down at Ed and said, “You are not allowed to blame me when you get sick, just a fair warning.”

The following week Ed cancelled all of his classes due to being sick with a fever, Roy teased, but doted on him anyways, bringing him and Al soups each night. One night on his way out Al cornered him.

“I’m not going to give you the shovel speech, cause I don’t think it’s needed, which says an awful lot about how much I trust you, and also how much I trust you to be scared of me.” Al says. “I don’t really understand your relationship, I just wanted to say to remember to keep Brother’s happiness in mind. He thinks of everyone but himself.”

“I’ll do my best. And I don’t think you’ll be the last to not understand our relationship.” Roy replies.

Al grimaces. “I don’t need to understand it to know that it makes Brother happier, and that’s all that matters.”

Roy grins.

Things seem to go back to normal after that, dinners, lunches, poker nights. The team is confused at first, but everyone gets used to the change, although there’s not much of an adjustment. They still argue about alchemy, and politics, and who is cheating at chess.

Roy does his best to be mindful of Ed’s happiness and one day when Ed is waking up in his bed, saying he wished he lived in Roy’s big comfy bed Roy simply replies, “Okay.”

Ed blinks up at him. “What?”

“Come live with me.”

“Roy.” Ed breathes his name.

“Al can come to. He can finally get the cat he’s been wanting, since I know your building doesn’t allow pets. It doesn’t have to be right now I jus-“

Ed tackles him down onto the bed, placing several kisses on his face. “It’s perfect.” And while nothing about their lives will ever be perfect, it's their own little version of perfect, and that’s more than enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!! I've had a migraine for days now so its a little disjointed, but I really love this idea, and maybe will play around with it in the future!


End file.
